The boys and girls swimming programs in the Southern Connecticut Conference have held lapathons and diveathons the last four years to fundraise for Lion Heart. Lion Heart was founded by 2-time breast cancer survivor Kathleen van Rijn, the sister of North Haven High School Swim Coach.
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It started more than a month ago with the Cross Country Divisional Championships (impacted by weather, of course) and concluded this past Saturday with four football finals. All told, 38 CIAC State Championship trophies were awarded and this edition of Linked Up - Championships edition has a story on all 38.
For those unfamiliar (or simply as a reminder for those who are previously familiar) Linked Up Championships will provide a link to the local media[...]

Schedules for 2018 fall sports have been posted on the CIACsports.com site. To view a schedule for any school or specific team, or a statewide master varsity schedule for a sport, visit the main schedule and results page of the site.[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn. – The online application for credentials for the CIAC girls volleyball, field hockey, boys soccer, girls soccer championship games and girls swimming Open at various sites are now available for submission online. The online application can be found at: http://casci.ac/2772. All the championships will take place Saturday, November 18.
Requests to be included on press pass lists for any of the championship sites and venues are due by 10 a.m. on Friday, November 17.
The[...]

CIACsports.com gave fans the chance to choose their favorite CIAC Championship NFHS Network moment from 2016-17, with 16 choices. And the fans have spoken. We happily present the top-5 choices for top championship moment in descending order with one revealed each day. And now we reveal the voting winner.
#1 - E.O. Smith's McKenna Dale wins the fastest 50 freestyle in Connecticut history at the State Open.
One of many great things about events like the Girls Swimming[...]

And that is now officially a wrap on the 2016 fall championship edition of linked up. Thirty-eight championship stories are included below (and there are many more stories out there on this outstanding teams, so please seek them out also). This has to be one of our favorite recurring features on CIACsports.com because it highlights so many great championship stories, along with the excellent work of the news outlets in covering these events.
For those unfamiliar[...]

The CIAC is announcing the schedule for the fall rules interpretations meetings provided to CIAC by officials’ organizations and league. CIAC rules and regulations require head coaches or their designee to represent your school at these important meetings. Other coaches are encouraged to attend, but it is not a requirement. If your coach cannot make the meeting in your area, I am certain he/she would be welcome at one of the other meetings. If you[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn. – The CIAC has posted the 2016-17 CIAC Handbook and Tournament Packets for all fall sports with all the information available for view and download on CIACsports.com.
The CIAC Handbook contains all rules and regulations and policies, including changes voted on at the 2016 Annual Meeting and is effective as of July 1. The Handbook can be downloaded here. The Handbook was condensed slightly and reorganized this year to eliminate redundant and conflicting information[...]

On October 25th the CIAC fall championships began with cross divisional championships as 12 teams earned trophies. Forty-nine days later the season concluded on a sunny and brisk Saturday in December with seven championship football contests. CIACsports.com provided its own complete coverage of the football championships but for the sake of completing a task, Linked Up Fall Championships 2014 now includes stories on every championship team. Congratulations to all the student-athletes and coaches that earned titles[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn. – The crowning of 16 CIAC champions will be broadcast live online over the next three days on the NFHS Network.
Finals in boys and girls soccer, field hockey, girls volleyball, and swimming and diving will all be shown live on the Network, which can be accessed at http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/ciac. Viewing subscriptions can be purchased for the day, month, season, or annually to view content on the NFHS Network.
In addition all four volleyball finals as[...]

The brackets have been whittled down and the fall sports season will conclude in five sports with a bonanza of championship events over the coming days. Below we have provided a historical breakdown of each team’s success in the respective tournaments, to provide some context for what will take place this weekend. Along with that, there are several interesting little tidbits found by digging through the championship match-ups and their history. As such, here are[...]

In August the CIAC Board of Control approved changes for the season limitations and practice dates for the 2015-16 season beginning in the fall 2015. The changes were approved after the 2014-15 CIAC Handbook went to print, therefore the on-line edition has incorrect dates listed for 2015-16. The CIAC has attempted to share the correct dates as widely as possible and they will be correct in the next edition of the CIAC Handbook, but in[...]

The issue of concussions and brain injury has been a focus of the CIAC for many years, and with new information coming to the fore, the critical importance of this issue has come into sharper focus. Through its policies and requirements the CIAC has made great effort to protect the well-being of student-athletes. It has worked to empower athletic directors, coaches, and parents by providing the latest information from medical groups and the National Federation[...]

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Greenwich girls swimming and diving coach Richard Hawks was one of twenty-one high school coaches from across the country selected as 2013 National Coaches of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.
In his final season at the helm of the Greenwich program Hawks led the Cardinals to the LL Championship, a third-place finish at the Open Championship, and finished atop the FCIAC East Division standings[...]

It took (way) longer than anticipated, but with the class LL football championship in the books, the CIAC fall sports championship season is now officially concluded. There were numerous wonderful stories throughout the championship season (which began with the cross country divisional championships on October 26) and the Championship Edition of Linked Up is a place to find a lot of those stories in one place. Congratulations to all the athletes who took part in[...]

We began our project to let the fans choose the best CIAC Network championship moments and at the very least to re-live some of the great moments from the championships a few days ago. Part one brought some of the best of boys and girls cross country, and soccer. Today it is time to get through the rest of the fall and tackle boys and girls soccer, girls swimming, and football.
FOOTBALL:
Daniel Hand entered the class[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn. – The CIAC has posted the 2016-17 edition of the CIAC Handbook as well as 2016 Tournament Packets for all fall sports with all the information available for view and download on CIACsports.com.
The Handbook includes detailed explanation of seven by-law changes approved during the last school season which are effective for the 2013-14 school year including new policy for transgender athlete participation, giving schools the option to use Sundays as make-up games upon[...]

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - A change in the kicks allowed for swimmers in the breaststoke highlight the six rule changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in swimming and diving for the 2013-14 season.
High school swimmers in the breaststroke event will now be permitted to execute a single butterfly kick on the start or turn at any time prior to the first breaststroke kick following this rule change, which was one[...]

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Legendary Cheshire (Connecticut) girls and boys swimming coach Ed Aston joins four individuals who excelled as high school athletes, including former Washington Redskins’ all-pro quarterback Joe Theismann and current Los Angeles Clippers’ guard Chauncey Billups, to headline the 2013 class of the National High School Hall of Fame.
In 37 years as girls swimming coach at Cheshire High School, Aston’s teams won 25 Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference state championships and had a 414-21-1 record. He coached[...]

The devastation from Hurricane Sandy can still be seen around the state, and on the more trivial level the impact on the high school sports scene also still being felt. Whether it was schools that found themselves without power for an extended period of time, or the fact that the CIAC Soccer Tournaments will conclude the day after Thanksgiving rather than a week earlier, the super storm seemed intent on disrupting just about all areas[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn.– A total of eight CIAC Tournament finals will take place on Friday and Saturday November 16-17 and all eight competitions will be broadcast live on the CIAC Network at www.CIAC.tv.
The championship matches in all four classes in girls volleyball and three classes in field hockey, as well as the girls swimming State Open will all be carried live. The full broadcast schedule with links to the broadcasts can be found on the CIAC[...]

There is obviously one story that has dominated the landscape in Connecticut and across the country over the past week, and it has certainly made an impact on high school athletics. There are many stories (including this release from the CIAC) discussing the changes to postseason and league tournament schedules available on-line, and those stories are not linked here. Instead there are stories about teams working together in response to the storm, and a variety[...]

CHESHIRE, Conn. – As a result of the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has left many schools still closed and caused damage and other issues across the state, the CIAC has created a revised schedule for the 2012 fall tournaments. The decision came after a thorough review of the calendar, discussion with tournament directors, and communication with potential host sites.
The CIAC fall tournaments in boys and girls soccer, field hockey, and girls volleyball were originally[...]

Several days worth of links compiled in this one, with a wide variety of topics covered.
From Mysuburbanlife.com: An element of high school sports that might get overlooked, which is the student in the mascot costume. Nice to read about those students who might not be contributing on the field but are still involved in the experience.
From Patch.com: It is hard to ignore all the health concerns currently in the news about football. Here is a history lesson[...]

One more day before the first official contests of the fall season. It seems mother nature is also excited for the start as after a wild weekend, the forecast for the rest of the week for most of the state looks fantastic. Today's links again feature a lot of preview stories as everyone ramps up for the start of the year. There are so many previews at this point, it is challenging to link to[...]

One week away. Seven days. Approximately 168 hours (or 10,080 minutes). You get the idea. That is how long the anxious student-athletes, coaches, parents, fans and anyone else must wait before the 2012 high school sports season kicks off. It has been a long time coming for these teams and athletes and they are no doubt anxious to get started. With that in mind, here is a look at what is being written around the[...]

As expected, the frequency of team previews in the media are heating up as the start of the high school sports season inches closer. And there is a wide variety to sample today.
The first story, however, is not a preview but rather an important piece from the Danbury News-Times about the growing use of steroids among female high school students. A very interesting story, particularly the notion that bucks conventional wisdom that steroids are always used[...]

The CIAC's two mobile webapps have been updated for the new school year.
CIACmobile.com features schedules, results, rosters and other important information on all CIAC schools and sports, along with news and updates, ticket purchasing for championships, a tournament merchandise store and streaming championship video.
fb.CIACMobile.com is a specialized webapp for football with a scoreboard, schedules, rosters, rankings and statistics.
To use the apps simply point the browser on your mobile phone to http://CIACmobile.com or http://fb.CIACMobile.com. If you're[...]

A complete schedule of Fall sport rules interpretation meetings has been posted on the site. Schools are reminded that their head coach or a designated representative is required to attend the meeting for their sport. More information and the complete schedule of meetings can be found here.[...]